Arkadia
by Gabrielle's Scrolls
Summary: In the land of the Lycanthropes, Gabrielle and Xena are put to the test when Gabrielle's life is changed by one event. Xena fears that she may never be able to get Gabrielle back and relies on old tactics and friends to save the love of her life. (This is set in Season 1-2 ) Minor AU.
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: Well I've been waiting thinking about doing this story for awhile and finally got the time to write it. I'm not revealing much just because i'm so EVIL :O jkjk. Please feel free to review follow or favorite. I hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 1

"Gabrielle! Stay Here!" Xena screamed at Gabrielle as they barged into the tavern.

The tavern's customers began to slowly turn around and whisper at the loud commotion.

"What?!" Xena exclaimed in her squinty eyed sarcasm. "You've never heard people argue before?"

The lot shrugged and continued their previous activities to avoid any further conflict with the Warrior Princess. They, however, made sure to keep at least one ear perked to eavesdrop on the two women.

"Xena! For the last time let me come with you! Stop treating me like a child!"

Xena's eyes lit up and she lashed out toward Gabrielle leaving her standing inches from the bard's face.

"It's dangerous, Gabrielle! You are _not _a child but, you are _not_ prepared to face the things that are out there."

Gabrielle winced and then squinted angrily, like she usually did when she was winding up for a big argument. "Oh!" Xena's eyes lit up hoping the bard would give up. "You mean you don't want some silly ol' sidekick ruining your super hero groove and getting in the way- _you_ don't want to have to look out for anyone but yourself."

"For Zeus' sake, Gabrielle." Xena rolled her eyes and bit down to begin the battle of 'tough love'. She truly believed that Gabrielle could have genuinely been able to hold her own ground, but Xena also knew that out in Arkadia- one slip and Xena, herself wouldn't be able to save her. That was a risk she would never take.

"Yes Gabrielle! By the Gods it's true, you'll get in my way and once again I'll have to save you! I'm so sick of saving you. So just stay here!" The warrior blew half sarcastically and half hoping Gabrielle would be hurt enough to listen.

"Maybe... it was a bad idea to bring you to these parts if you can't listen to me." She muttered with convincing disappointment.

The young bard stood slack-jawed from the words that still haunted the air around her.

"E-Excuse...me." Gabrielle managed to get out and took a defensive stance.

"I'll be back in a day or so. Stay in the borders that I've told you or go home. Goodbye, Gabrielle." The Bronze Warrior took her leave and ignored anything further from her angered companion.

Gabrielle stood with her blood boiling out of her ears and her hands clenching tightly around her fighting staff.

"AHH! By the Gods Xena, I could kill you." She broke her staff in half by slamming it right into the table she was standing next to.

The hit startled the people sitting at the table and they all got up and scurried away. One lady even grabbed her child by the head to prevent him from further seeing or hearing the frightful event.

Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes to try and remain calm but all she could see was red. Before she knew it the room was spinning and a man was tugging gently at her side.

"Here drink this. It'll calm your nerves a little." It was the tavern keeper, and he had brought a wooden mug filled with warm ale. "Come take a seat here." He patted.

"Thank you..." Gabrielle became flustered by her own violent outburst. "Sorry about the disruption and the damage. I-I can pay you back by helping out here a bit if you'd like."

"It's alright young lady. For being such a scary place, we don't get much action out in these parts. Heck, we don't even get any new people. A little entertainment is nice, you know?." He winked.

A pink shimmer filled the room. "Oh, Shut it, Cisseus! This place scary?" The curly haired blonde crinkled her nose at the bard.

"Aphrodite! Nice to see you again, it's been awhile." Gabrielle could see the sparkles light up his dark brown eyes.

_Oh boy another one of Aphrodite's love struck puppies. "_What do you want, 'Dite?"

"Oh nothin', just came to cheer up my little sweet pea. Warrior Babe has got some rocks in her boots." The perky blonde nudged.

"'Dite, besides leaving me alone,I don't really think there is anything you could do to cheer me up right now."

"Well, that's no way to treat the Goddess of Love, is it?"

Gabrielle shot her a daggered look.

"Besides...I thought you could use an adventure."

"An adventure? With you? You've got to be kidding me, right?"

Aphrodite gave a shoulder shrug that lifted her golden curls. "Na, toots, I don't think I could be joking about this adventure. A few fellas left me a sweet present and this place just happens to be the biggest party place in all of Greece. I think you'd rather enjoy it, unless, you want to be seen as a child all your life."

Gabrielle took the hit and glared mischievously at Aphrodite. "Alright...I'm in. So what's the plan?"

Aphrodite smiled ear to ear and held up a small pink pouch. "Well, we take some of these bad boys, and go hit up The L.C."

"What are those?" Gabrielle picked up the bag from her hand and took some of the 'bad boys' out. It looked like a bunch of different ingredients smushed together into a tiny pebble.

"Well, it's a secret. It hits hard, and trust me you'll be having the time of your life after you take these babies. You'll be saying 'Warrior babe _who_?'"

Gabrielle then realized she was holding a bag full of drugs and her eyes widened.

"Oh no. No, no, no."

Aphrodite gave a pleading smile.

The young bard was so tired of being treated like a child that the thought of consuming them didn't seem so bad after all. All she asked for was an adventure and if she couldn't have one by fighting along side Xena, she would have to find a makeshift way to have what she came for. Besides, she always wondered what it would be like to hang out with the Goddess of Love.

"Well..one time won't hurt, right?"

"Correcto mundo, sweet pea. Now let's go, the party is starting!"

Gabrielle smiled and got up. Thank the Gods someone was able to save what would have been a terrible night.

"One more thing." Aphrodite snapped and Gabrielle was now wearing a short black leathered dress with cute knee high black boots to match.

Gabrielle spun around in her new outfit and grabbed hold of Aphrodite's hand and they shimmered off.

When she opened her eyes again they stood in front of a large mausoleum that bore pure golden doors, and beside them were two largely built shirtless males.

"Well hello boys!" Aphrodite flirted.

"Goddess. You and your friend may pass." They both announced in unison.

When they entered, Aphrodite stopped Gabrielle to hand her some of the pebble shaped substance. "Take two of these now, and if you need more come find me."

Gabrielle took the two pebbles as instructed by Aphrodite, and they continued to follow the loud music down a large flight of stairs.

Once they got to end of the stairs Gabrielle slipped away from Aphrodite. Gabrielle took a look around. She had never seen any place like this before. There was a bar in what looked to be a theater and everything was made of marble, silver, and gold. There were no seats, and everyone was dancing to the deep rhythm that floated hauntingly throughout the room.

She shook her head as the drug started to take it's effect. Her heart started to beat as deep as the music and she couldn't fight the urge to start swaying her body to the sound. _By the gods_.

The music's vibrations hummed through her body down to the core of her soul. Suddenly, there was a hand slowly finding it's way around Gabrielle's waist. Usually that sort of touching wouldn't be stood for, but with the drugs and music combined it made her body sing with pleasure.

The young blonde grabbed hold of the hands and turned to face her attacker, or in this case, her admirer. And to her surprise it was one of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Whether it was the drugs or not, she couldn't break the sweet embrace of the ice blue eyes and words were silently whispered through the locked stare. Her mind tried to find all the similar features between the woman standing before her and the warrior princess, but this woman was beautiful in her own way which made the young blonde defenseless in the attack and she was swept away into black.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: The casting of Lycea was very hard to do, but I finally made my decision of making her Olivia Wilde. I hope you all are enjoying! Review, rate, follow, favorite. Etc. Thank you for your support! **

* * *

Chapter 2

A day or two later

"Gabrielle...Gabby... Come on sweet pea, wake up!" Aphrodite huffed and puffed in a hasty manner.

"Fine. The hard way." The goddess muttered to herself and snapped a splash of water onto the bard's face.

"What in Tartarus!" Gabrielle yelled and shot straight up.

"Sweetie...you've gotta get up! Xena is on her way back to the tavern and boy will she flip if she finds out you're missing." Aphrodite put her hands up in attempt to show that was something she didn't want to see.

Gabrielle groaned at waking up. She was trying so hard to remember why she slept so hard. Then she remembered, she didn't remember anything at all. And in no time she was looking at her surroundings.

Next to her laid the same woman that danced beside her that night at The L.C. And when her eyes moved back to her own body she shot out of the bed and wrapped the covers around herself.

"Sweet, Aphrodite!" Gabrielle stood wide-eyed and shocked.

The commotion seemed to quickly bring the sleeping woman to life.

"What's going on?"

"We didn't...did we?" The naked Gabrielle started to frantically pace back and forth.

The blue eyes lit up and the woman blushed. "Well...yeah."

"Oh dear Zeus. I don't even remember what happened. All I know was one moment I was dancing and now I'm standing here naked with a woman I don't even know!" The infamous squeal sounded throughout the room.

"The name's Lycea. You've been in and out of sleep for two days, I figured you needed your rest...after all it was a pretty eventful night." Lycea joked, but her voice was so sweet to hear.

It was all so strange to the Bard. She felt so embarrassed and outraged but at the same time she felt so connected to the woman in the bed.

"Well, no time to figure it out now. Xena's almost back!" Aphrodite reminded her that they were in a hurry.

Gabrielle bit hard on her lower lip and tried to quickly figure out something._ Anything._ She didn't want to leave the situation without knowing what really went down, but she also didn't want an angry Xena.

_Although, why in tartarus does she care whether I am there or not when she gets back._

Lycea was now standing in front of the panicking young blonde. She slowly placed her hands on Gabrielle to try and calm her down. The touch was so calming that it stopped Gabrielle dead in her tracks and made her look deep into Lycea's eyes. "It's okay, let's get dressed. I'll go with you." She reassured the Bard.

"Are you sure? I-I mean I don't want you to go out of your way just for me."

"Look. When we get to the tavern we can talk about things and what happened. Maybe, I'll even travel with you some if you'd like?"

For some reason the offer made Gabrielle smile. She nodded, got dressed, and in no time was zapped back to the tavern.

* * *

"Gabrielle!" Xena called out from the tavern door.

The three women sighed at the perfect timing.

"Lycea, take care of this one." Aphrodite mentioned. "Gotta go."

The pink shimmer blinded the two and when they finally opened their eyes, a tall figure was hovering above them.

"Oh..." Gabrielle tried to played cool. "X-Xena. Hi." She smiled and then gave a nervous grin to her new companion. Lycea smiled back with full intentions of playing along.

Xena took notice of the exchanging looks between her bard and the other woman. "Who's this?" She asked. For some reason the warrior wasn't impressed with this new 'friend'.

"This..." Gabrielle giggled nervously. "Oh, ha. This is Lycea. We...uh.."

The bard was struggling under the interrogating blue eyes of Xena, and Lycea could tell she was about to crack.

"We're...old friends." Lycea intercepted the attention of Xena; Gabrielle blew out a sigh of relief. She was not ready for Xena to find out what actually happened. Although, with the way Xena left her at the tavern it didn't seem to be any of her business anyway.

"I didn't ask you." Xena snapped back harshly.

"Xena!" Gabrielle gasped taking a defensive stand beside Lycea.

"It's quite alright, Gabrielle." Lycea assured her with another gentle touch.

Xena caught sight of the touch and took a mental note of how Gabrielle reacted. She didn't understand what in Lycea made her blood boil, but she knew that whatever control she had over Gabrielle was a start. Whether it was jealousy or warrior senses tingling Xena was going to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

"Don't you dare take this out on her, Xena. She did nothing to you."

"Alright." She accepted the challenge. _I can play this game too, Gabrielle._ "Xena, and you are?" Xena extended her arm out.

"Lycea. Nice to meet you." They shook hands and left it at that.

"Let's go, Gabrielle. We can make it back to Athens in three days if we go now."

She turned to walk away but when she caught a glimpse of the new girl following Gabrielle, she spoke over her shoulder. "She's coming as well?"

"Yes, Xena. Hope you don't mind." Gabrielle grabbed Lycea's hand tight in hers and rushed past the Warrior Princess. She was so furious that Xena kept going with this bitter attitude, and she was about to reach a breaking point.

Xena noticed the angry flee and rolled her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: And here is where the fun starts! Thank you so much for the reviews! Feel free to leave more! :) Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

About a few candle marks into their journey to Athens, Gabrielle was finally able to break away with Lycea to get the story of what exactly had happened. It was easy enough to lose Xena. All she had to do was play the helpless girl afraid to March into battle when eerie noises caught the warrior's attention. Little did she know it was all part of Xena's plan.

"So...what exactly happened?" Gabrielle inquired as soon as she figured Xena was far enough away.

"Well." Lycea blushed. "We danced like crazy, the heat between us was breathtaking. At first I thought it might have been because of the drugs you took. But then I realized that it was truly you that made it such."

Gabrielle started to get into a romantic smirk across her face. "Oh, I definitely remember that."

They both blushed and strolled on.

Xena followed the two without them knowing. Her keen sense of hearing made it extremely easy to pace at a great distance behind them and eavesdrop.

"Then I took you to my place and we made such sweet love, you fell asleep and the next thing you know, _someone_ is calling you back to the Warrior Princess." Lycea smiled. She wasn't jealous at all of the relationship that the bard and Xena shared together. She knew deep down that Gabrielle was hers in ways that Xena could never have her. Eventually, Gabrielle and Xena, would both understand that, but in time.

When the words of Lycea reached the ears of the Warrior Princess, her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, and her hands clenched tighter around Argo's reigns. Xena was shocked at what she heard. It hurt her greatly, but right now it wasn't about her, it was about Gabrielle, and anyone who had the indecency to make love to someone who was drugged was someone to watch out for. Gabrielle didn't deserve that and she was beginning to wonder what the motives were behind the act. However, she still didn't have enough information to make a move and would leave it be.

* * *

Back at the campfire

Xena waited patiently at the camp. She kept playing out the words and actions in her mind, but stopped when she heard a rustle in the bushes.

She was quick to her sword. "Gabrielle?"

A beat passed.

"Yeah. By the God's Xena, it's just me." Xena looked at the blonde emerging from behind the brush. When it was just her she went around checking the perimeter for Lycea.

"Xena." Gabrielle reached for her arm. "It really is just me. Lycea went to go wash up down at the lake."

They both sat down across from one another at the fire.

It was an awkward silence and the fire's crackling and sizzling kept the attention of the two.

"Gabrielle." Xena broke her gaze. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said. You know it isn't true."

"Then why did you say all those things, Xena?" Gabrielle looked deeply for the answers in the warm blue eyes.

"You know all I want is to protect you, I'm never going get sick of saving you. But there are times when it is going to be too dangerous, even for me and I don't know if I'll even be able to save myself." Tears began to fill the eyes of the strong warrior.

Gabrielle was a little shocked by how much emotion Xena was showing. "But Xena..." sympathy washed over. "I chose this path, to fight by your side. Wherever it takes me; whether to our victory or to our death. I'd rather know I did what I could to try and save us both, as opposed to thinking I could have saved you or helped and did nothing about it."

Xena was reminded again how loving and _good _Gabrielle was. She didn't want to believe that someone as wonderful as Gabrielle would want to die defending a horrible person like herself. She didn't deserve that, and yet Gabrielle showed her so much mercy.

"So...How'd you meet this Lycea of yours?" Xena changed topics before she melted into a pile of mush. The warrior in Xena wanted to keep composure and get to the bottom of things.

"Well..." Gabrielle didn't want to lie, but she wasn't up for a screaming match either. "We met a little while after you left." She gulped. "We both had nothing to do so we kept each other company."

It wasn't a complete lie. She did meet her after Xena left and they did keep each other company...just...more then expected.

Xena stared disappointedly into Gabrielle's eyes, and knew that she wouldn't get the truth. And somehow Gabrielle could read that Xena knew she was lying, and guilt washed over.

"I lo-...Goodnight, Gabrielle." Xena took to her bed rolls and let it slide for the night.

Gabrielle lingered for a bit. _Was Xena really about to admit she loved me. But then... _She labeled the theory impossible when Lycea interrupted her train of thought.

"You're still up?" Lycea came and took the place where Xena had been sitting. The bards eyes lingered at the way her hair fell from her hair tie. She had such beautiful long brown hair, lighter then Xena's and more wavy.

Gabrielle blushed, "Well, yeah. I couldn't go to sleep with you still out there. It's dangerous you know."

"Oh? Are you afraid the big bad wolf will get me?" Lycea winked seductively.

Gabrielle bit her lip and broke the intense eye contact. She hoped that Lycea wouldn't be able to read all the emotions that were raging through her body.

For some reason, Lycea was able to drive Gabrielle wild with just one look. She always thought that Xena would be the only one to make her feel this way, but it turns out someone else stepped up to the plate and succeeded. Even though Gabrielle felt bad she figured that Xena just wasn't interested.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds a bit ridiculous."

Lycea got up. Reading Gabrielle wasn't that hard for her, she could feel the connection and feel the heat rising between them. She grabbed Gabrielle by the hands and lead the blonde to her bed rolls that laid across the campsite from Xena's.

"Kiss me." Lycea whispered. Gabrielle felt every hair on her body rise at the command. Without any hesitation she obliged, and the passion between them soared through the crisp night air and the whole world knew that Lycea was Gabrielle's and Gabrielle was Lycea's.

* * *

Morning

Xena felt the morning sun beat heavily on her face and it was a strange feeling to her. It meant that she had slept in longer then she was supposed to and time was against them in travels.

She got up quickly and rolled up her bed rolls, but paused when she noticed that Gabrielle wasn't laying next to her like she usually did and she took a second to collect her nerves.

Turning around she couldn't believe her eyes. The both of them, Lycea and Gabrielle, were laying naked together under the bedrolls.

_That's it. _Xena snapped. She yanked the brunette straight out of the bedrolls and went straight to work.

"What in tartarus do you think you're doing?!" Xena was furious and she was seconds away from taking her chakram straight to Lycea's throat.

"W-What?" Lycea was still waking up. "I didn't do anything."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. What do you want with Gabrielle?!" Xena grabbed her chakram and pinned the woman against the nearest tree.

"I love her. What do you think?"

"That's a bunch of bull and we both kno-"

"XENA!" Gabrielle was now standing up slapping on her clothes.

_You're so damn lucky, Lycea_. Xena turned around but was sure to keep a good grip on Lycea.

"Put her down!" Gabrielle marched over to the warrior princess.

There was silence and no action.

"Now! Or by the gods, Xena I will leave and never come back." Gabrielle was starting to get worked up.

Xena huffed at the threat and released Lycea.

"You better run, because if I find you again...I'll kill you." Lycea did as ordered grabbing the rest of her clothes on the way out of the campsite.

Gabrielle couldn't believe what she saw. 'Wow, I knew that you would be jealous, but Xena you've gone way too far."

"Too far, Gabrielle? Too far? What? Are you so love sick that you can't see how she's playing you?"

"Playing me? How is she playing me? She wasn't the one who left me behind, Xena. You were. And even if I did love her, is that a crime? I can't have peace? You have to rip them to shreds before I can even have a chance at finding that much out." Gabrielle was so furious her bright green eyes became engulfed in red.

Xena blinked in confusion and then it clicked. Everything made sense. It made sense why Gabrielle felt so in love with Lycea and felt so deeply connected with her. It made sense why Gabrielle remained so loyal to her new companion. If Xena was right, something happened to Gabrielle, and it was the same reason that Xena wanted Gabrielle to stay put at the inn. Xena's heart shattered into a million pieces and she knew that one wrong move would cause the snap in Gabrielle. She had to find out for sure and it would require her to think quickly and stay cool.

"Okay, Gabrielle." Xena tried to deter her attention. "I'm sorry and I over-reacted. But come on..." Xena laughed. "How would you feel waking up to that?"

Xena made sure to calculate her surroundings, which tree she would flip off of to get her sword and which way she'd need to throw her chakram to lock in Gabrielle, if the tables turned out of her favor.

Gabrielle's eyes started to simmer down from red to an orange-yellow. Xena was starting to get her to calm down.

"Now after we eat, we can go back and find her if that is something you really want to do."

Gabrielle gave in. She realized Xena was right, the sight was probably shocking to see. "Okay. Deal." The green returned to the Bard's eyes.

"Great." Xena gave a convincing smile. "I'll go catch the food, if you want to finish packing." Gabrielle nodded and Xena pointing to the forest grabbed her sword and headed out.

Xena thanked the Gods that Gabrielle took the bait, but now it was time to find out the truth once and for all. Xena raced toward Argo and started her way through the forest collecting what she could to make traps on the outskirts of their campsite. She needed to know what she was dealing with and knew just the right ingredients for the job. Once she gathered them all she used the hilt of her sword to crush them together into dust and placed them in the small gourd she had hooked to Argo's saddle.

"Alright, girl. This should do the trick." She patted her horse and sent Argo off.

It was time.

She climbed up the nearest tree making sure to keep safe distance. "Gabrielle!" She called down and coaxed the blonde closer to the bullseye.

_Perfect, _Xena thought when Gabrielle stopped in the sweet spot and threw down the gourd causing it to break. The dust particles escaped from it and in no time at all Gabrielle was coughing and inhaling the fumes.

"Xena!" She cried for help as her lungs started to feel as though they were collapsing. It hurt so bad and felt as if every bone in her body was rotting in place and breaking apart.

Xena closed her eyes, she knew that the pain Gabrielle was feeling must have been excruciating, and it broke Xena down to tears to know that she wouldn't be able to stop Gabrielle's pain this time. "I'm so sorry, Gabrielle. I'm sorry." She repeated over and over as she waited rocking back and forth in tears.

Gabrielle finally collapsed to the forest floor and was silent. It was the queue for Xena to get a grip and pay attention. She held her breathe quietly and rested one hand on her chakram for a quick get away.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Gabrielle started to stir. Xena tapped her fingers along the chakram hoping she wouldn't have to use it. And then it began, the fear Xena had was confirmed. Gabrielle's body started to evolve, started to take a different form. And there on the forest floor laid a beautiful, powerful lycanthrope.

Gabrielle sniffed the air, she could smell that Xena was close by and rose quickly to all fours.

When their eyes met, Xena knew what had to be done. She threw the chakram at the Lycanthrope as it lunged and attacked.

Gabrielle managed to dodge it and scored good height into the tree with her jump attack. Xena went wide-eyed and instinctively flipped to the forest floor. Gabrielle was close behind her getting to the ground.

"Come on, Gabrielle. It's okay..." Xena backed away slowly as the now white furred Gabrielle stalked towards her.

Gabrielle jumped to attack again and Xena did a side roll to dodge, while unsheathing her sword to cut the rope to release the trap.

When she did the ropes from the trap came flying out around Gabrielle and took her to the ground. Xena took the few moments in opportunity she had and straddled Gabrielle. From her side pouch she wrestled for the small vile inside.

"Ah!" She screamed while trying to open it without spilling it every where. Once the cap was off she forced the liquid from it into Gabrielle's mouth.

Gabrielle's tongue wrapped around the vile and she snarled back at Xena. It again had the same painful feeling as the dust but this time Xena did what she could to hold the powerful Gabrielle down.

"Come on work." Xena kept muttering. Gabrielle was too powerful for Xena, she kept wrestling her down but was quickly losing her stamina. If the potion didn't work in time Xena would be good as dead.

"Xena!" The scream echoed in the air as Gabrielle's last transformation completed.

Gabrielle was now laying naked under Xena. She was beat up, torn, and defenseless. "Xena, help...my lungs." Gabrielle gasped.

Xena quickly got off and removed the ropes. She swooned Gabrielle into her arms and tried to asses the damage. "Oh, Gabrielle. I'm so sorry." She sobbed into the blonde cradling her tighter.


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: Short chapter but always more to come. Remember to comment, favorite, follow or which ever! Enjoy.**

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Chapter 4

"Hey, there. Feeling any better?" Xena looked over at the mumbling bard.

"A little. I just can't seem to shake this ba-" before Gabrielle could mutter another word she was puking to the side of her bed rolls.

Xena had a sympathetic side smirk and went over to rub Gabrielle's back.

"Xena...I feel like I'm falling apart, losing myself." Gabrielle didn't look up, she was still queazy. "I don't even remember what happened, one moment I'm passed out on the ground, then I remember you running from me, and now I'm waking up as if nothing happened except an imploding stomach." Gabrielle heaved out another load of puke.

"Here." Xena got up when she heard the water was boiling. She poured the concoction into a cup and made Gabrielle drink. "It'll help the pain."

"Thanks."

"The first time always hurts. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"What are you talking about?"

Xena sighed and then smiled warmly at the Bard. "Would you like to hear a story?"

Gabrielle's eyes lit up as she nodded speechless. Those were definitely words she never expected to hear from the Warrior Princess.

"Alright. Here goes nothing. Not too long ago there was a king by the name of Lycaon who ruled over Arkadia. This king believed that the Olympian Gods did not deserve to be worshipped. He began to despise Zeus, so much that he decided to commit a horrible act against Zeus. So one day Lycaon decided to invite Zeus for dinner. Lycaon had one of his servants kill a prisoner and feed the meat to Zeus. When Zeus learned of this treachery, he cursed King Lycaon and his people by turning each one into lycanthropes. Half-human and half-wolf. They can transform themselves at will and can be powerful and deadly."

Gabrielle was slack-jawed at Xena's bardic skills.

"The funny part is...you're now one of them."

"W-What?" Gabrielle's train of thought came to a screeching halt. "How on earth do you know that? That's not possible." The young blonde buckled herself down and tried as hard as she could to change into a Lycan. When she wasn't able she looked at Xena as if she proved her point.

"Well, " Xena's eyes widened with a Touché. "First off, the bite mark on your left shoulder." She pointed and Gabrielle looked. "Since you were so drugged.."

Gabrielle's face changed. _Busted! _

"You wouldn't have been able to feel the bite, and if you were knocked out for two days it gives you enough time to heal without the pain. Lycanthropes have the ability to heal quickly. The second thing that tipped me off was when your eyes changed color as soon as you became infuriated with me. That's the very first thing that changes. When that happened I knew my theory was true but I had to test it, I had to know for sure.

"Right after Cortese took Amphipolis it was one of the first places I traveled to. When I got there I met a man by the name of Titanas. He was a great man who taught me some great things, and one of them was how to fight Lycanthrope. He showed me potions that could reveal Lycanthropes, which came in handy when finding out which part of the army were Lycans and which were not. The last thing you want to do in battle is go raging in and be out numbered by creatures you weren't expecting to fight. The other potion was how to turn them back from their Lycan form just in case. However, the problem with fighting Lycans is hand-to-hand combat. They're much stronger and much faster which is why I had to set a trap and turn you my way to test my theory. If I just enraged you more, you would be out of control and I'd be at a disadvantage."

Gabrielle was still in disbelief but the faint scar indicated that Xena must have been telling the truth. "So, what does this mean?"

"I don't know, Gabrielle. The first thing though is getting you to control your transformation, if you don't, innocent people will get hurt."

"But I still don't understand who would do this to me?"

Xena gave her a look that could kill. "Really?"

Gabrielle shrugged.

"Lycea, doesn't ring a bell? Why do you think she makes you feel the way you do, Gabrielle?"

"Well," Gabrielle thought for a second, "then this shouldn't be too hard right? I can go talk to her and sort all of this out. You know get her to show me how to control my inner monster. Maybe she can even help us get rid of this curse!"

"Gabrielle, you have to promise me that you will stay away from her."

"I don't understand, Xena. Are you so jealous of her that you can't even ask her for help? Or are you afraid she'll save me from this monster and love me like you couldn't."

"Enough!" Xena bit down. "How about she did this to you and you are only one step closer from being her bitch, Gabrielle. It's not love. Now get your things you're going to the Amazons while I figure out all this mess."

Gabrielle rose up silently and gathered her things. She was mad but knew not to push Xena even further.

"Now let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Two more chapters coming up tonight. It gets a little interesting! :) Thank you so very much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. It means a lot and is motivation! Feel free to leave more! :) Enjoy.**

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Chapter 5

The journey to the Amazon land was a quiet one, and when they got there it was equally silent.

Xena jumped from her horse only to be greeted by a bunch of Amazons when she landed. They were always quick at checking out who was arriving in their camp.

"Xena. Gabrielle. What are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked as her curly hair bobbed through the crowd of women.

"I've come to ask you to watch over Gabrielle; protect her." Xena was straight to the point and Gabrielle rolled her eyes at the word protection.

Ephiny caught the expression. "Isn't she capable of protecting herself?"

"You'd think.." Gabrielle mumbled.

"Quiet, Gabrielle." Xena was harsh, but in order to save the life of her Bard she had to be. It was tough love and if she wanted to survive while traveling with Xena she would have to learn how to follow instructions.

"As you wish_." _Gabrielle snapped harshly and walked into the camp without further word or farewell to Xena.

"Why don't you cut the tone, Xena? Gabrielle isn't a child." Ephiny took to the defensive side.

"Why? When I told her to stay put, she came back as a Lycanthrope. Don't you know the only way to cure her is to kill her! Now I have to go plead to the Son of Zeus, if not Zeus himself for a cure. And if he doesn't-If I can't get a cure that won't kill her..." Xena looked down with pleading eyes. "She has to learn to control herself _in_ Lycan form, how can she do that if she won't even li-"

"You love her." Ephiny cut her off.

"I-I...No. I mean, yes. She's like family."

"No. You love her as a lover would." The curly blonde smirked with admiration. She knew well that Xena was being so protective because she loved Gabrielle. The warriors mouth might have not been cable of speaking such things but Ephiny could read the whole story in the depths of those baby blue eyes.

Xena bit down and stared into the eyes of her challenger. She had mulled over the thought of loving Gabrielle many times, but she was so afraid that love would drive the Bard away, or would be the death of her. Xena couldn't take anymore heartache and she couldn't take the thought of being the cause of Gabrielle's pain, so she kept the love to herself.

"You're...you're wrong." Xena said as convincingly as she could and began to walk away. "Watch over her."

The stoic warrior mounted Argo."YAH!" And like the sun fleeing from the moon she was gone.

Ephiny sighed. She knew how complicated things were, and what Lycanthropes were capable of if they were out of control. It was a hard thing to deal with and even harder to find a cure.

She walked over to the hut where Gabrielle ran off to. When she opened the curtains guarding the entrance she saw the young blonde sobbing on the ground.

"Gabrielle..." Ephiny cooed.

Shocked, Gabrielle quickly whipped her eyes as Ephiny took a seat next to her.

"She loves you. You know?" She spoke with such sincerity but not even Gabrielle would buy it.

"Are you kidding?" Gabrielle stood flustered in anger. "Loves me? Xena? No..she couldn't...She loves people like Marcus and every other bad boy that comes along. I'm too good or too child-like for her to love me. She doesn't even want me around half of the time." Gabrielle started mimicking Xena's gestures and mocking her voice. "Stay here, Gabrielle. Don't do this. Don't do that. I don't have time, Gabrielle." Returning to normal. "No, she doesn't love me Ephiny. She's probably leaving me here for good so she won't have to deal with me and this curse." Gabrielle finally broke down in sobs and Ephiny continued to listen. "I love her. By the Gods, I love her so much. You know how many times I've just tried to get her to notice that. I can help her, I can fight right along side her, _until death_." She paused "...As long as I'm with her. But Ephiny...Can't you see. I'm not good enough..." The tears continued to fall. "Now, if you don't mind. I'm exhausted."

Ephiny sadly took the que and got up to leave while the young bard got into the bed.

"I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

Returning to the others was difficult. She was bombarded with questions and they demanded answers. When Ephiny told them everything she knew most of them agreed that the cause was worth fighting for. But there were some that didn't want to risk what they had to protect this woman with a curse.

"I don't like this one bit." One of the Amazons spoke to another.

"Me either." The other whispered back.

"I say you and I kill her. Save our sisters from the danger that we both know she is capable of. Princess or not she _must_ die."

Her companion acceptingly smiled.

* * *

When the camp fell quiet, the two Amazons planned a strategy to bring Gabrielle down. They figured that Gabrielle would be a piece of cake to kill in her human form, but just incase they laced their daggers into their bracers.

"We don't want it obvious we want her dead. If we play it right they'll think she's the one who attacked us. We tell them she couldn't control herself, they'll think twice about her and join our efforts."

The other nodded.

"You take the back, I'll take the front."

They shook and split off to Gabrielle's hut.

* * *

Gabrielle laid in the bed almost motionless, she had finally passed out from all the fatigue and crying. However, her Lycan senses picked up on the outsides of her dream state. She heard rustling around the hut. While her dreams played around the idea, her body started tingling with alertness.

The young bards skin started crawling with goosebumps. The door to the hut rustled ever so slightly.

If only the two Amazons knew it was enough to wake up Gabrielle.

Gabrielle flung to her feet and took stance. It was a weird emotion that was flowing out of her body. She wanted to talk and reason with them, but the adrenaline

was splashing through her veins like the wrath of Poseidon.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gabrielle screamed to try and reason what she could. The rage kept banging against her head and she shook to keep composure.

"We're going to kill you Gabrielle. Just like your kind killed ours long ago."

"What?!" She screamed and raised her hands. The red wasn't slow to flare in her eyes. The alertness and heightened paranoia was driving the bard into a raging fit.

The two girls each took Gabrielle's flanks. Gabrielle backed up against the corner of the hut. And when they thought they had her they both tried to grab her by the wrist but Gabrielle was quicker and she reached for their hands twisting their arms behind there back and pushed them as far as she could away from her.

"Is that all you've got?" Gabrielle egged. "Come on! Kill me!"

One girl hung back as the other raced toward Gabrielle and tried a sweeping round house on Gabrielle's right but it was dodged by a jump and followed by a blow to the face. Gabrielle then ended it by pulling the girl's left shoulder and kneed her in the face then giving a second punch to put her back next to the other girl.

The second was quick to react at her sister's beat down and grabbed her daggers from her bracers. She took it by the blade and threw it at Gabrielle's head hoping to catch her off guard.

Gabrielle's senses shook with adrenaline and she caught the dagger in mid-air; shocked, she took a hard blow with a right hook. She stumbled back and gained her composure right before receiving a left punch into the stomach. The hit enraged her and she could feel the heat boiling within her body. The girl took one last move and landed a perfect kick on the side of Gabrielle's ribs, breaking them to pieces. She heard the crack and they both caught each others eyes with rage and excitement.

Gabrielle wasn't anywhere close to finished like the two girls figured she would be. In fact she felt the last nerve break within her. It must have been the Lycanthrope blood raging in her but she came out of the blow with more speed and power then they'd ever seen. She was transforming and she knew anything that happened after would be out of her control.

The two Amazons were standing wide-eyed and defensively side by side, with daggers drawn as they prepared to embrace the wrath of Gabrielle.

The pain raged within the bard."AHHHH!" Gabrielle screamed and ran as fast as she could towards both of them. It seemed to have caught them off guard because before they knew it Gabrielle had the Amazon on the left by the wrist. She twisted it so hard that the Amazon now had her back facing away from the action and Gabrielle used her as support to get in a few flying kicks to the the Amazon on the right. When she landed she used the pinned arm of the first Amazon to maneuver her to the front, posing as a shield. The second Amazon was enraged and lunged to try and stab whatever she could of Gabrielle. And before they all knew it Gabrielle completed her transformation. She snarled and her snout snapped.

"Stupid move, Amazon." Gabrielle grabbed the second Amazon's wrist mid-air and shoved it into the neck of the first. The girl was shocked and screamed loudly at the sight. The body of the first Amazon dropped like a large sack of potatoes.

The Lycan and the Amazon girl stood alert, their senses heightened, listening and watching for even the slightest of movement from each other.

Gabrielle stood tall about 6 foot and towered over the Amazon. Her golden-white fur was now soaked in blood, and her eyes matched the color of her kill.

"What's going o-?" Ephiny burst into the hut and saw the dead body of her Amazon sister. She had heard the yell and she was heavily armed with the other Amazons at her back.

"That beast! She attacked us. W-we were checking, seeing if she needed anything. And then she attacked us, killed Xantippe."

Ephiny looked at the Lycan standing in the middle of everything. She drew out her bow and took an arrow from her quiver. She knew that Gabrielle had no control over her form and would have to kill her if needed to protect her Amazon nation.

Gabrielle caught the movement of the bow and fear fluttered in her eyes. She growled and placed one overly enlarged paw and snapped the bow in half.

"Attack!" One of the Amazon's sounded from behind. They all rallied and Ephiny started to panic. She panicked for Gabrielle's life, but Gabrielle caught on quick and ran as fast as she could out of the angered crowd and into the forest.

The angry voices deafened her as she ran as fast as she could. She had no idea where she would go but knew she had to run. _For her life_. The air around her smelled of death and she couldn't shake the feeling of the blood soaking into the depths of her soul. Her feet pounded heavily with guilt and murder against the hollowed ground and the world around her started to collapse.

Her senses led her to a dark place. It felt so right to the Lycan, because it matched what she was feeling inside. When she stumbled upon a giant marble stair case that led up to a mansion in the middle of the town she collapsed from all the pain and guilt.

_Nothing can save me know_, Gabrielle thought. _This time not even Xena_.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is a short chapter but is important so had to be done. :) Feel free to follow, favorite, and most importantly leave some feedback! Thank you and enjoy!**

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Chapter 6

Same Day/Night - Xena's Pov

Xena traveled quickly to get to help. She knew that with Gabrielle's condition she wouldn't have a lot of time. Instead of taking camp during the night she kept on. Pushing Argo was no easy task, but Xena smiled at how well Argo embraced the pain and kept on.

"Good girl." Xena spoke softly to the tan beautiful horse as they reached her destination. "Here," pulling apple's from her pack. "I got you some apples. Thank you."

Argo neighed and flicked her hoof as a happy retort.

"Now, I'll be back soon, girl. I have to go talk to an old friend."

* * *

Xena paced back and forth as she waited for someone to answer. She knew it was late in the night so sleep was upon the house, but to her it was a matter that couldn't wait.

"Hell-, Xena?" Hercules answered the door. He stood with the door half opened and without his shirt.

Xena smirked at the sleepy eyed Herc. "I know it's late but I need your help."

He nodded. "Sure, Xena. Come on in."

When they both reached the kitchen he sat her at the dinner table and prepared a hot soup for her. He knew that she must've been extremely hungry just by how exhausted she looked.

"So, what has the Warrior princess banging at my door at this hour?" He laughed.

"It's Gabrielle. She-" Xena looked down. "She was bitten by Lycanthrope, and now..."

Hercules caught the fear that blanketed the Warrior's eyes. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that Xena. If you try and heal her she will die. Wolfsbane is extremely toxic."

"I know that! " Xena snapped as she got up from the table. "And I know you can at least talk to Zeus, Hercules."

He placed the soup bowls on the table. "Xena, that was a war started long ago. My father isn't going to bend at the knees for a girl who wondered into trouble. Especially when she's a friend of yours, Xena. You know that."

"By the Gods, Hercules. She's not just a girl! We are talking about Gabrielle. Her life, her innocence, everything that is good in her will be lost. Don't you understand, you have to try, please I am begging you." Xena pleaded

Hercules debated internally. "Please, I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose her for good."

"You love her don't you?" He eyed.

"You know what?" Xena paced back and forth. "Everyone has been asking me that. What do you think?" Xena collapsed on the kitchen chair and looked into Hercules' eyes. "I _do _love her. I love her to the very edges of this Earth and back. But I don't deserve her, and she doesn't deserve this. Hercules, every moment she is stuck with this curse everything she stands for will be ripped away, her innocence, her love, her _good."_

_ "_You can't blame yourself for this Xena."

"Can't I? I left her at that tavern. I dragged her into danger by letting her travel with me. I should have took her back home. Because of me she is going to witness things that will break her and kill her in more ways than one."

"Xena..." He placed his arms on her shoulders. "Have you ever asked her how she felt? What if she wanted this life, what if dying for you a million times is something she is willing to do for you. Because she loves you as well."

"I won't allow it." Xena snapped. It killed her inside that someone so good was willing to die for a murderous warrior.

Hercules sighed. He knew that this was a battle that only Xena could fight. She had to find and realize the answers for herself.

"Hercules..." She pleaded again.

"Alright. I'll talk to him. But I can't promise anything."

"Thank you." Xena's eyes filled with hope and she embraced Hercules tight in her arms and he responded, hugging back.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Last chapter for the night. Decent length for you all! Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy. As always Feel free to favorite, follow, and post feedback/reviews. **

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Chapter 7

The Amazons prepared Xantippe's body for the ceremonial burning. Ephiny was battling with her thoughts. She knew that the warriors would want revenge for their sister's death, and it was only a matter of time before they went looking for Gabrielle. She partially wanted to rip Gabrielle to shreds for the event that took place in the hut, but she also had a feeling something wasn't adding up. When she saw Gabrielle, the young bard was exhausted and didn't look to have an ounce of energy left in her. She had been so torn on Xena that life left her face.

Ephiny studied the hut over and over again. The tracks on the ground told two stories. The first was that there wasn't any struggle until the two Amazons were in the hut. The second, that Gabrielle didn't greet them when they entered. As if Gabrielle was startled by their visit.

Eponin entered. "The body is ready." She looked around at the mess. "It's sad isn't it...how someone so good to us turned into such a monster."

Ephiny looked at her partner sympathetically. "Eponin, the stories don't add up to the evidence shown here. But I can't confirm anything because Gabrielle isn't here to testify."

"You think she's innocent?"

"I'm not stating whether she is innocent or guilty, but this evidence is telling me a different story then what Emilie told us."

"Would you like me to prepare the questioning for after the ceremony?" Eponin asked wanting to get to the bottom of everything as much as Ephiny.

"Give it a day. Let our sisters mourn for the loss. Tomorrow we will worry about the guilty."

Ephiny left with Eponin following behind her.

"Xena is here and she is asking for you." One of the Amazons greeted Ephiny and Eponin as soon as they exited the hut. The two glanced at each other.

"Eponin, make sure that the others are dressed and prepared for the ceremony. I will talk to Xena."

Eponin nodded and left with hesitation. She was afriad that Ephiny would come back to them in pieces but she also knew that it had to be done. Xena had to know what happened.

"Xena." Ephiny greeted.

Xena was taking in the surrounding and noticed the body prepared for burning. She didn't bother with greetings and was straight to the point.

"What's going on here and where is Gabrielle?" The warrior smelt trouble. Her blood was starting to boil with fear but she knew that staying focused would get things solved faster.

"G-Gabrielle left. She ran away after she attacked two of our Amazons." Ephiny gulped.

"I don't buy that garbage for one moment." Xena glared. "Who was the other, assuming she's still alive?"

"Emilie. She survived the attack, but only because we interrupted. If we hadn't I'm sure she would've been dead, too."

"Show me where Gabrielle was staying and bring Emilie to me."

"Bu-"

"Now!" Xena yelled.

Ephiny tightened her facial expressions and led Xena to the hut and ordered the girl to be present.

Xena examined every inch of the hut, reading every foot step, every wrinkle in the bed. The event played wildly in the warrior's mind and the truth unfolded so easily before her eyes. Gabrielle didn't attack anyone, she was protecting herself from being killed.

"My name is Emilie." The girl gulped. "You wanted to see me?"

Xena turned to face a woman that was decently built. She would have been a decent match for someone like Gabrielle.

"What happened here? And don't you dare feed me the bullshit." Xena's eyebrow rose. As the woman spoke and told her story of what she was doing, Xena made sure to study every emotion that ran over the girls face.

"...And like I said we wanted to be of service to her and she attacked us. Killed Xantippe."

"Now the truth." Xena stood inches from the woman's face.

"That_ is_ the truth." She bit back defensively.

"Okay." Xena stood back and turned around.

As soon as the girl let out a sigh of relief Xena whirled back and was at her throat with the pinch.

"You've only got a few seconds before you die."

Ephiny stood in shock she knew that Xena would kill her if she really wanted too but she also wanted to know the truth from Emilie.

"Now, listen closely. If I find out that anything happened to Gabrielle outside of Amazon lands, I'll take you to your grave personally. Now tell me what happened."

"Th-tha-that's the truth." The girl struggled to answer.

"YAH!" Xena punched the girl in the gut to make the pain intensify. She grabbed the girl by the hair and showed her the tracks, "See these. This tells me you attacked Gabrielle. You didn't come to ask her for help you came to kill her. Now I know you're going to tell me the truth, or so help me, I will make sure you die right here like Xantippe."

Xena removed the pinch and waited for the girl to answer.

She took her time and Xena was growing more and more impatient. "Now are you going to tell me?"

The girl spit in Xena's face. "No! You're just as much of a monster as the mutt beast of yours. Those animals murdered my family and our town. Since you obviously don't have the guts to put your dog down someone had to."

Xena gritted her teeth and snapped a punch to the girl's face. The girl flew back and her face was covered in her own blood. The warrior knelt down to the girl and gripped her by the collars of her armor.

"Such a shame Gabrielle didn't kill you off when she had the chance." Xena was so disgusted that she slammed the girl back into the wall of the hut and walked out.

"Emilie, you are being held as prisoner and will be tried for your crimes against Gabrielle the Amazon Princess." Ephiny looked disappointed in her sister. "And as you know, betrayal against the princess or queen is seen as treason and punishable by death."

* * *

After taking Emilie to the Amazon jail, the Amazons and Xena regrouped in the ceremonial area.

"Ephiny. I do apologize for the loss and heartache this has caused you and the Amazons, know that I am trying to do what I can to fix this." Xena whispered as they began to light the body.

The Amazon's were in silent mourning as the body burned, and Xena sang the burial song as the flames engulfed the world around them. She wasn't just singing for the Amazon that laid before but she sang for the soul that Gabrielle was losing. She knew that she had to find her before the cold-blooded murderer took over.

When it was all over Xena went to find Ephiny.

"When she left where did she go, do you know?"

"No, she ran into the forest, South from here."

Xena's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

"Bring her back home, Xena. And tell her that you love her, she deserves and needs to know."

Xena looked at Ephiny with a sad smile. "Alright."


End file.
